Rick Delbridge, Cardiff University

Bill Harley, University of Melbourne

Paolo Quattrone, Alliance Manchester Business School

Kerstin Sahlin, Uppsala University

Universities face unprecedented challenges including COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, financial pressures, and generative AI that require fundamental organizational innovation. While previous research has examined how universities contribute to industry innovation through collaborations, comparatively little attention has been paid to how universities innovate themselves as organizations to survive these turbulent times.

This special issue seeks interdisciplinary contributions examining universities' ability to innovate internally across governance, culture, leadership, capabilities, ecosystem engagement, work environments, and societal missions. The issue welcomes theoretical and empirical research exploring what drives, enables, or constrains innovation within universities.

Appel publié par Journal of Product Innovation Management. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Innovation in Governance and Strategy - governance structures, decision-making processes, exploration vs. exploitation, hybrid/ambidextrous organizations, organizational structures, business models, digital transformation, and generative AI
• Innovation in Culture and Leadership - culture of resistance to change, leadership styles, governance models, organizational cultures, academic autonomy, professional communities of practice, and organizational agility
• Organizational Structures, Capabilities and Learning - organizational structures and innovation diffusion, organizational learning processes, capabilities, routines, institutional logics, and alternative organizational forms
• Ecosystem Engagement and Open Innovation - global networks, international partnerships, orchestrating roles as hubs/intermediaries/boundary spanners, network structures, intra-university collaborations, alliances, partnerships with industry/government/civil society, and balancing academic independence with collaborative demands
• Innovation for Wellbeing and Work Environment - designing healthier and inclusive work environments, participatory innovation and co-design, bottom-up initiatives, and academic labour experiences
• Innovation for Societal Grand Challenges - aligning innovation with grand challenges like sustainability and social justice, mission-oriented organizational models, partnerships for co-creating solutions, and evaluating societal impact

Timeline

• January 21, 2026: Call for papers for Catalyst Essays and Original Articles
• March 2, 2026: Online information session and Q&A with Special Issue Guest Editors
• May 1, 2026: Deadline for Catalyst Essay proposals (maximum 2 pages)
• September 1, 2026: Deadline for full paper proposals for potential inclusion in the Paper Development Workshop (maximum 10 pages)
• November 1, 2026: Deadline for Catalyst Essay submissions (only accepted proposals)
• November 30, 2026: In-person paper development workshop at Cardiff Business School (optional)
• February 1, 2027: Deadline for full paper submissions (open to anyone)
• May 1, 2027: Final decision for Special Issue I (Catalyst Essays)
• May 1, 2028: Final decisions for Special Issue II (full papers)